By Elliot Foster

Liam Williams has done everything asked of him, passed every test he’s had to take and gained national notoriety in the process.

But the Welshman, who currently holds the British and WBO European super-welterweight titles, is a former Commonwealth champion and has a ring record of 16-0-1 with 11 early endings, is under no illusions as he heads into his next outing.

‘Dully’ has been out of the ring since winning the fringe WBO belt against Gabor Gorbics in Cardiff in November and he will return in the spring.

The 24-year-old faces Liam Smith, his divisional rival and former WBO world champion, on April 8 at Manchester Arena, exclusively live on BT Sport and BoxNation.

Their clash will provide part of the supporting cast to Terry Flanagan’s WBO lightweight world title defence against Petr Petrov, though many are tipping it to be the top-of-the-bill showdown in terms of interest by the time fight night comes around.

“Everything’s going alright, I’m just ticking over now. We’ve got eight weeks to go but I’m fit now,” Williams told Boxing Scene. “I could fight in two weeks; the weight is coming down nicely and everything is going perfect up to now.

“I had a good break after boxing in November, went on a few holidays, let my hair down and had a couple of beers, so it was nice to do things that I’m not normally able to do.

“I’m fresh now, ready to go and can’t wait.”

The battle of the Liams is a fight that has been mooted for some time –– and it was one which was ordered for the British title, a belt now in possession of Williams, back when Smith held the crown.

Officially, there is no belt at stake on the night between the pair, but both are hoping that either the British title or the world title, which Liverpudlian Smith dropped last September in defeat at the hands of Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez, will be on the line.

Liam Smith blames Williams for him not having the British title outright, given the history between the pair, but the unbeaten man is unfazed and knows that he is in for a big night and, more importantly, a huge test.

“This fight brings a whole new set of challenges to what I’ve faced previously [in my career],” Williams continued telling ‘Scene. “Liam Smith definitely isn’t going to fall over once I hit him a couple of times.

“I’m in a real fight, I know that, but I also know that he’s in a real fight. Other than the Alvarez fight, which he lost and got stopped, this is his hardest fight too.

“He says I have flaws and I know exactly what he’s talking about, but on fight night those flaws aren’t going to be there for him to exploit.

“I’m getting better every fight, every fight I’m a different fighter and this fight, you can trust me, it’s going to be good.

“By the end of the year, I want to be a world champion and this, to me, is just another fight on the way to achieving that goal.”